RSS Feed
Twitter
November 13th, 2005 
admin 
How do you in high school will have an impact on how you perform at medical school. If you plan on becoming a doctor you can increase your chances of success by preparing early with a good education. If you follow this advice while you are in high school, you will be ready for medical school.
1. Schedule a meeting with a guidance counselor. If you plan to attend medical school, you should first schedule a meeting with your guidance counsellor at your high school. Discuss about necessary admission formalities of medical schools of interest to you. Figure out the courses that are required in order to apply to the universities that you want to choose. Also, be careful that your GPA is high enough to meet the pre-requisites for your med school of choice. Talk to your guidance counselor during the year preceding your entrance into medical school. She will be able to give you tons of information that will help you find your way.
2. Make sure you’re in the right classes. Taking the right high school classes can also help you on the road to medical school. You need to have taken all the pre-requisites for the pre-med program to be accepted into your university. Since admittance into the program is dependant on the classes taken by you in high school, make sure you are on the correct path. Take classes like chemistry, biology and physics to increase your chances of being accepted into medical school. If you also consider taking advanced math course, there will be good benefit. [Contact the guidance counselor to confirm that everything important has been covered.]
3. Keep up your GPA. You do not need to keep up a score of 4.0, but it is something to aim for if you really want to be accepted into med school. It is a requirement of the majority of medical schools that your cumulative GPA be at least 3.5. When you apply to a medical school, they will look at your GPA to see if you are really “doctor material”. Keep your average high to prove yourself.
4. Work to improve your reading skills. Great reading techniques are very important for a med-school student. When you’re in medical school, you will be getting through plenty of textbooks. You can prepare for these reading loads by improving your reading skills in high school. While you are reading, think of two things: Improving your study skills, and remembering what you read. Any and all of these are helpful on your path to medical school acceptance.
5. Demonstrate leadership. Medical school admissions officers are also looking for people with strong leadership ability. If you do some volunteer work in high school, you will prove this. Places like hospitals and nursing homes really need volunteers. Health-related experience improves your med school application – it not only highlights your interest in the medical field, but also shows your commitment. As you gather documents for your application to medical school, be sure to get letters of reference from all of your volunteer work and any professional work you may have done.
Watch the video related to medical schools
A medical student discovers that getting out of medical school, may cost him his life.
Help answer the question about medical schools
How competitive are medical schools in Australia compared to the US?I'm an undergraduate student in the US planning on attending a medical school here or possibly in Australia.. does anyone know how the two compare? I will have a degree by the time I am ready to apply to med school so I am interested in the graduate programs there.. does anyone know if med schools in Australia require pre-med courses like the US and if so what are they? Any info you can give me will help, thanks!
About Author
Tiffanny Provost writes about Medical and other Education Tips as a staff writer for HowToDoThings.com.
Posted in 
Tags: 
how many caribbeans are there?
hahaha so my favorite part was at 0:57 where you see the guys playing frisbee and one is hopping around all happy…then it cuts to your face and you look sooooo saaaaaadddd haha
My best advice is to take what you are really really interested in. You can always take science courses that you need on the side. Plus you will get better marks if you love what you're taking. You'll also be happier.
You do not need to be adequately prepared for medical school by majoring in science! All you need are the science prerequisites required by the medical schools. Go to the med school sites that you're interested in and read. Or ask your guidance counselor for some brochures… they might have them. Medical schools rarely require you to major in science.
If science is your one true passion, by all means go for that. Bu tthere's nothing wrong with going for something else if you're really intrigued.
You could even consider calling Admissions in a medical school that you're interested in. Tell them your situation and ask them what they recommend for you to do. You'll see that they'll say the same thing.
If you major in science, you may have a bit of a lead, but everyone in med school ends up evening out anyways, so I've been told by a residence student. University is a time to grow as a person and, in my opinion, to get a diverse education.
ETC, research, volunteer at a hospital/clinic, get to know the environment and see if you like it, have some papers published, high GPA, fulfill science requirements, profs' letters of recommendation, very good MCAT score, you name it…
Hey this is in San Antonio, i am from there, but doing medical school in the caribbeans, haha awesome video.
no buddy! I did it…. Just get your G.E. courses out of the way and then transfer 2 a University. U can declare your major at a 2year college and then go on 2 the college that best fits you. If your Pre-med like I was then tell the counselor that you want to be and he or she will give u the courses you need 2 take and tell u the GPA u must have 2 transfer and how many unit course hrs u need 2 transfer 2 a university. I did it and Im in the army and got a wife and 2 year old. You’ll be fine.
wow that was cool
Fun is the disease, and we… are the cure. Brilliant! Can’t wait to get into medical school. I will fight and won’t stop until I am satisfied.
Somehow this relieves my doubts about going to medical school.
Thanks.
hahah.
In general, nothing provided in a nursing program will help you in medical school. Unless a nursing program's required courses include Major level bio , chem, physics and calc (which some do) any course done in a nursing program is insufficient for medical school.
An undergrad degree in biochemistry will provide you the best advantage in med school. By that, I mean that an undergrad degree in biochemistry may save you a couple of hours of studying while in med school over somebody who got a degree in History. My major was physics and I practiced medicine as a surgical physician assistant (for many, many years) before I went to med school. I studied just as hard as the next person and didn't feel like I had an advantage over anybody. Med school is unique–there's no easy way through it.
If you want to buy the most expensive education that you can, by all means, apply to "prestigious" schools. You'll learn an expensive lesson–when you're finished with all of your education and training you'll learn that the only thing the medical community cares about is where you did your residency training. And often as not, the best residencies are not at a well known medical institution.
i am in university of west indies trinidad final yr med school on a break.. i totaally enjoyed that movie clip..
Start preparing for the MCAT now. Plan to take it in April, that way if you don't do as well as you could you can take it again in August so schools have your results in September.
I highly recommend discussing this with a counselor who is familiar with the admissions committee's preferences. Many medical schools are now prefering students to only take the prerequisite science courses and obtain non-science degrees to make them a more rounded applicant. If that is the case with these Cali schools, then pursue an alterantive degree that interests you.
If your counselor recommends going with a traditional science degree, then the typical undergrad degrees are in biology, chemistry and physics.
First, definitely get in touch with your school's premed advisor…they can help answer all of these questions, make sure you're taking the right classes, and help you out with the application process when it comes to that.
Don't bother studying for the MCAT until you've completed the premed prereqs….the MCAT tests the material from those classes. Most people get serious about studying a few months before the MCAT. For me, the most useful thing was doing as many practice tests I could get my hands on (you can get them from the AAMC) and taking them under real conditions (quiet, timed, not food/water, etc).
Aside from doing well in all your classes, you're right, volunteering and/or shadowing is a great idea….and these days, for most med schools it's the unspoken admissions requirement. They want to see that you really know what you're getting yourself into, and that becoming a doctor isn't just an abstract concept. Try contacting local hospitals or clinics and ask about volunteering….there are so many premeds these days that a lot of these places, aside from their regular volunteer program, might even have a premed-specific program. But even if they don't, get your foot in the door, be friendly, explain you're interested in becoming a physician, and you'll meet docs who would be willing to let you shadow them. Also, your premed advisor likely has a list of institutions that are great for premed volunteering. It's daunting, but just be persistent and keep a good attitude and you'll find a great opportunity. Good luck!
The best MCAT prep major is Biochemistry (in my opinion!) The MCAT is 1/3 Chemistry and 1/6 biology, and the fact that you will be taking biochem and physical chemistry right before the MCAT is a huge boost! However, if you dont' like chemistry/biochemistry, don't take this major! The minor advantage on the MCAT will not make up for the fact that you have to work harder and potentially have a lower GPA because you didn't like your major!
Get your basics and take higher science and math.
I have found that medical schools are looking to see what your daughter would be enthusiastic about herself. A lot of medical students didn't necessarily graduate with a major in biology/chemistry. Some majored in something like spanish or history. You must still get all required courses in chem, bio, physics, math & eng taken care of, but if the medical school sees that you are passionate about whatever it is that you are pursuing, this makes the difference. This also boosts your grade point average if you happen to be interested in the subject.
Keep logs of volunteer work done over the years and strive for good grades always. Know that it's going to be a lot of studying while your friends are out partying, and spending extra hours at school when you sometimes really could use a break. My biggest motivating saying was: "what do I really want?"
Go to medical schools' websites and run through their list of prerequisites for applications. Most list the courses that should be completed as an undergrad right on their websites.
Also, talk with doctors in your area, or your own family doc. You may be able to follow them for a day in the office to really see the reality of the job and to know if this is actually something you want to pursue.
Hope some of this helps you…